Delicious Butter Tarts

[ve4cib]

For my own benefit, I'm transcribing the recipe for the butter tarts Diana and I have made a couple of times. They're pretty fantastic.

The filling was taken from here and the crust is a pie crust recipe from a newspaper.

Crust

Makes 2 9" pie crusts or ~24 4" tart shells

• 3 cups all-purpose flower
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups shortening
• 1 egg
• 5 tablespoons cold 7-Up
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

1. Mix flour, salt, shortening together
2. Combine egg, 7-Up and vinegar. Stir into flour mixture quickly to form dough that clings together and cleans bowl
3. Roll to 1/4" thick and cut into 4" circles
4. Place the crusts into a suitable muffin tin

Filling

Note: measurements doubled from original source since the crust recipe makes 24 shells instead of 12

• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 1 cup raisins or chopped nuts (optional)

1. Mix butter and sugar together until smooth and creamy
2. Beat in eggs 1 at a time
3. Stir in vanilla extract
4. Stir in cream
5. If using nuts/raisins place a spoonful into the bottom of each tart shell
6. Fill tart shells with filling (about 2-3 teaspoons per tart, but this may vary depending on the size of your muffin tin)
7. Bake at 375F (190C) for 15-20 minutes, until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling
8. Let cool & enjoy